The sin of Sodom was Homosexuality

OPEN: Today is the first day of a new month. June is the first month of summer and traditionally has been the month when many young men and women got married. While both of those elements of June are still in place, the month of June has taken on new meaning for many: PRIDE month. The month of June will see many parades, festivals, and awareness events in Cally, New York, Chicago, but there will also be festivals in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Hickory. A planned event called the Newton Pride Takeover has seen some backlash, but the event will still take place, but with a more user-friendly name. Evidently, the word “takeover” revealed too much of their agenda.

Transition: Much change has occurred in the USA in the past 50 - 60 years and we are now living in a culture that openly accepts the homosexual lifestyle as normative and good - something to be celebrated. This massive, moral upheaval of some of the very foundational elements of human society for over 6,000 years is taking place right before our eyes and the proponents of the homosexual lifestyle are calling on the rest of us to embrace the cultural moment.

What does God have to say about this issue? Before taking moral positions on any subject, it is vital for us to hear from God. He has indeed addressed this issue and we are going to hear from Him today.

READ the Text: Genesis 19:1-13; 23-25

Spoiler Alert: The text is clear that God brought judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them with fire from heaven (Gen. 19:24) and wiped out all of the inhabitants. This is serious business, so it makes sense that we have a good understanding of WHY this judgment took place

1st Question: What was the sin of Sodom? (Genesis 19:4-5)

Explanation: This may seem like a trick question, but it is not meant as one. God stated that He was going down to the city “because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous” (Gen 18:20). What was the city’s very grievous sin?

Verse 4 & 5 of our present text indicate that the men of Sodom came at night to Lot’s house and demanded that he send out the 2 angels who were his houseguests. Now the men did not know they were angels, but they did know the 2 angels were in Lot’s house and the mob wanted to know them in a depraved sexual manner.

The text uses the Hebrew word Yadah (to know) for the group’s demand. Homosexual activists who take time to interact with Scripture (most don’t) will posit that the sin of Sodom was a grievous breach of hospitality, not homosexuality. They may even cite Ezekiel 16:49 in support of their position.

49Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

There was indeed pride in Sodom. The city had a reputation for worldliness and abundant material gain. This reputation of Sodom was what first caused Lot to fix his gaze on the city (Gen 13:10-12). While pride of achievement and the easy life was present in Sodom, that does not account for God’s judgment of utter destruction.

No, the grievous sin of Sodom is seen in the mob’s unnatural desire for the angelic beings. The term mob is a good descriptive word for the group because it was composed of both old men and young men and the text also states the men came from every quarter of the city. This is meant to show that ALL of the men of Sodom were involved in this action. The sexual perversion of Sodom is supported in other biblical texts such as Jude 7 which states: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire”

2nd Question: WHY is the sin of homosexuality an abomination to God?

The answer to that question is found in the creation ordinances of God as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2. God chose to create humans in His own image and He created them as male and female. God also established marriage between a man and a woman as His creative order. That means everything that violates his order of marriage: fornication, adultery, pornography, serial divorce, multiple partners, and homosexuality are violations of his covenant arrangement and are therefore sinful.

Homosexuality differs, however, from the other sexual sins that violate God’s creative order. Fornication and adultery are disordered natural desires. Homosexuality is an unnatural desire and everything about it is disordered. Homosexuality is barren and dead and it is fundamentally opposed to the Creation Mandate that God gave to humanity when He commanded them to flourish and populate the earth. Homosexuality is NOT capable of providing for human flourishing!

There is also a homosexual agenda. Those in the movement have been planning for the normalization of homosexuality through well-documented stages. The LGBTQ+ group are actively seeking to undermine God’s pattern for the family and this makes the movement unique in those other sins that are outside of covenant marriage.

Illustrate: Where is the proud community of adulterers who are lobbying for legislation supporting their ‘sexual minority’ status?

Question 3: Is Homosexuality unredeemable?

NO, it is not. Homosexuality IS NOT the unpardonable sin. Those living in bondage to the sin of homosexuality can be delivered and set free in Christ Jesus. Contrary to what Bible teacher Beth Moore claims about the power of the physical hold that homosexuality has over those in that lifestyle, the power of the Gospel of Christ is far greater. When Jesus sets a sinner free, he or she is free indeed (John 8:36).

There are many former homosexuals living free in Christ and their testimonies declare that God CAN and DOES deliver. One such person is Rosaria Butterfield, a former lesbian who is also the author of several books, including 5 lies of our anti-Christian Age. In this book she addresses our current society’s stance that “Homosexual is Normal” as Lie #1. (I recommend this book)

Rosaria, like many others, can affirm the truth of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Read the Text and focus on verse 11a: such were (past-tense) some of you!

Question #4 How is a believer to respond to the sin of Homosexuality?

As believers, we are not called to accommodate any type of sin - and this would definitely include homosexual activity.

Do not compromise your convictions with the Homosexual community to “just get along” with others. You may have noticed that I have not used the word “gay” during this message. There is nothing joyous or happy about the Homosexual lifestyle, and it is part of the intentional agenda to ‘normalize’ the behavior

Do not let societal standards govern your thoughts and actions in this area. In 2015, SCOTUS made a break-through ruling with the Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. Legal decisions, even when made by SCOTUS, do NOT over-rule or revoke the Moral Law of God. Whatever man may declare about these unions, they are NOT marriages and believers should NOT attend them.

Do share the Gospel with those who are trapped in this lifestyle. Believers are called to share the truth in love (Eph 4:15) and the most loving action is to tell .